Title

Friction and Cars

Broad Question
How does friction affect cars?

Specific Question

Will Sandpaper, Computer paper, or Aluminum foil effect the car more?

Hypothesis

I believe the sandpaper will cause the most friction.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Flooring Surface ( Sandpaper, Aluminum Foil, and Computer Paper.)

Dependent Variable:

The time it takes for the car to get around the track.

Variables That Need To Be Controll

The controlled varibles are the Location, Trials, and length of Track.
General Plan

Potential Problems And Solutions

There is not a problem with this experiment.

Experimental Design

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

I’m conducting my experiment in Mrs. Ballou’s classroom. I will also be the one and only person testing in my experiment. I will be conduct four trails for each flooring placed in the track. I will be recording my data on a spread sheet and than put the data on the computer. Then I will write it onto a premade spreadsheet.
Materials list

1. Battery
2. Battery operated Car
3. 44 pieces of track ( 9 red, 9 blue, 9 orange, 9 yellow, 9 green)
4. 1 piece of sand paper
5. 1 piece of aluminum foil
6. 1 piece of computer paper

Procedure
1. Have a data table pre made for 4 floorings and 3 trails.
2. Put the track down on a flat surface
3. Set track in a straight line.
4. Set timer to zero
5. Start battery operated Car
6. Place car on track and start the timer at the same time.
7. Once Car goes off the track stop the timer
8. Record data than place new flooring in track.
9. Repeat steps three more times.

Resources and Budget Table

My resources are Sandpaper, Aluminum Foil, and Computer paper recycled from the Sciene Fair.

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Background Research
Friction is another force all around us.Friction occurs whenever two objects come in contact with each other.
For example there is friction between the bottom of a toboggan sled and the track.Friction slows objects down when two surfaces rub together.
Friction acts towards the opposite way of the objects motion.The amount of friction depends on the roughness of the surface in contact.
There is more friction in surface that are rougher.There is less friction on smooth surfaces like ice.
Friction slows things down, and stops some objects from starting to move.Friction is the force in between the floor and your shoes which prevent you for falling over.
Friction is a force. It is a force that slows motion and dampens energy. When wind blows through a tree the tree impedes the wind flow. This causes the wind to slow down. Friction releases some of the energy. This release can be in the form of noise, vibration, and energy transfer. When the wind hits the tree you can hear the noise of the wind blowing through the leaves and branches and you can see the movement of the leaves and branches. Some of the energy the wind had is transferred into moving the tree. Friction can also transfer energy into heat energy. If you rub your hands together you will notice that the skin on your hands warms up. Some of the energy of motion in your hands is transferred to heat energy through the friction process.Friction, the force or resistance that opposes the movement of one body or substance against another. Friction between solids is usually caused by irregularities in sliding surfaces, but sometimes by adhesion (sticking) or electrical attraction. Friction between fluids is usually caused by their viscosity (resistance to flowing).
Friction is a force which opposes relative motion when two solid bodies are in contact.A coefficient of friction between two materials is a number. The coefficient of static friction is higher than the coefficient of dynamic friction.The actual force of dynamic friction is always found by multiplying the normal force by the coefficient of dynamic friction.The actual force of static friction is always less than or equal to that found by multiplying the normal force by the coefficient of static friction.

References

"Engineering Interact - Interactive science & engineering for 9-11 year olds." Engineering Interact - Interactive science & engineering for 9-11 year olds. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. http://www.engineeringinteract.org/resources/parkworldplot/flash/concepts/friction.htm.
"WHAT IS FRICTION?." WEATHER PREDICTION EDUCATION. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints2/476/.
"HowStuffWorks "Friction"." HowStuffWorks "Science". N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. http://science.howstuffworks.com/friction-info.htm.
"VBulletin Message." Physics Forums. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.physicsforums.com/library.php?do=view_item>.

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Results

All Raw Data

Trials	Sandpaper	Aluminum foil	Computer Paper		Plastic
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Trial 4
Trail 5

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Data Analysis

Conclusion

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Discussion

I predicted that the sandpaper would cause the most friction, making the car move slower to reach the end of the track. My results do not support my Hypothesis. There is a relationship between my independent and dependent variable. The relationship between them is the floor surface affects the time. My data does not show any patterns or trends. My testing went smoothly because everything worked. If I could improve my experiment I would test different types of toy cars. A future interesting study would be to change the speeds of my toy car, to see if the different speeds were affected by different floorings.